


Only Dark Skies That Hang Above

by rosesmallow



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: (and Rey and Finn), Angst, Chewbacca Gives The Best Hugs, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Missing Scene, Poe Dameron Needs A Hug, Poe isn't Force Sensitive exactly but he has a bond with Leia, lowkey some religious motifs thrown in for the hell of it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:21:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29147373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosesmallow/pseuds/rosesmallow
Summary: Following his argument with Finn, Poe tries to focus on repairing the Falcon, but he's caught up in all his fear and anxieties of what lies ahead. Luckily, he has Chewie to help him.
Relationships: Chewbacca & Poe Dameron, Poe Dameron & Leia Organa
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	Only Dark Skies That Hang Above

**Author's Note:**

  * For [braigwen_s](https://archiveofourown.org/users/braigwen_s/gifts).



> I am once again standing in front of you all with a hyper-specific found family Poe fic. There are some implied references to Leia's death, and overall some minor self-loathing (?) from Poe and references to PTSD and trauma. Yay Star Wars! Pew pew, so much fun, aaaaah [shakes hands, miming a crowd] raaaaah. Title is from "Dark On Me" by Starset.

_ That’s for damn sure. _

Poe twisted at the scarf he’d used as tourniquet for his injury, descending down the slippery, soggy field back to the Falcon, Finn’s words banging around in his mind like a second heartbeat. 

He hadn’t meant it like that, Poe knew. Finn would never intentionally hurt him in that way, wouldn’t throw the fear he knew kept Poe awake at night in his face, not even in the heat of an argument. He meant it in a different way, in a way Poe knew and hated he would never understand: the Force.

Because that’s what Finn had just plainly told him, wasn’t it? Without saying the words exactly, but if he knew what Rey was going through, the same as Leia did, then that meant that Finn also shared that awesome power.

And Poe? He was just a pilot, he jumped in ships and blew stuff up and prayed to an ancient religion most people didn’t believe in anymore that maybe the rest of his pilots would make it back in one piece. He was a mortal standing among deities.

But still.

He wasn’t Leia. It was a fact as much as it was the fear that’d worn away at him for the past year, his failures at Jakku all the way to Crait draining him of some of the fire he was best known for. He wasn’t a leader, he couldn’t understand why Leia seemed so certain he could be one, and now -

Poe made his way back to the cockpit, where he’d abandoned his repairs. He’d lost Rey, just like Leia was afraid of. He’d failed  _ again,  _ because for everything he could do for Finn and Rey and Leia - challenge them, pick them up when they fell, soothed them when the nightmares came - he would always be on the outside looking in. He would never truly understand what was going on with the people he held closest to his heart, he would never be able to fully protect them because how could he protect them from something he couldn’t see? Couldn’t even touch?

He growled and slammed his fist against the wall, then leaned into his uninjured arm, burying his forehead into the crook of it, shoulders slumping. His chest was tight, eyes prickling with unshed tears. The cockpit felt cold, like all of the warmth had been evaporated in the few seconds he’d been standing there, and there was something brushing up along his consciousness, a feeling that was hollow and all-encompassing that Poe didn’t want to dwell on, so he pushed it aside: his nerves were already frayed, he was just anxious with the weight of the mission, with the knowledge he lost Rey like Leia was afraid of, there was nothing more to the feeling than that.

(He couldn’t find it in himself to truly believe that, though).

A large hand grasped his shoulder, startling Poe. He looked up to find Chewbacca standing in the door eyes, dark eyes shining with sympathy. Chewbacca emitted a low growl that meant,  _ “You okay, kid?”  _

Automatically, Poe shook his head. “No, I’m not Chewie. I’ve -” he twisted away from the Wookiee, turning to face the transparisteel viewport, gripping the back of the pilot’s seat to steady himself. “I’ve let her down again.”

Another low growl and Poe barked a sardonic laugh, “It sure feels like I have, buddy.”

Chewie placed his hand on Poe’s shoulder again, pulling gently so Poe would turn around to face him again. Poe staggered and Chewie nearly released his grip, thinking he hadn’t been gentle enough, but quickly realized the stumble had less to do with his own sheer strength and more of how  _ out of it  _ Poe currently was. Chewie repeated himself but more firmly this time,  _ You haven’t let her down. _

It took a moment, a long breath of a pause before Poe dragged his gaze up to meet Chewie’s. There was a heavy set of skepticism in his dark eyes, but they softened around the corners and Chewie knew he’d broken through some of the doubt that was clouding Poe’s mind, so he continued just as gently,  _ None of us want to let her down. _

It was what connected them - Chewie, Poe, Rey, Finn - all, really. Yes, there was an innate sense of justice, a burning hatred for the First Order, but underneath it was a desperate desire to do right by Leia Organa. To rebuild the world and family that was stolen from her, to promise they would be the ones to stay and not walk away from her or the fight like so many already had.

And Chewie had a promise to keep, one made on Bespin decades prior, to keep her safe. It was a promise he knew he shared with Poe, whose loyalty to the Princess was so strong that it automatically endeared him to the fighter pilot.

“Yeah, well, I’ve already let her down plenty of times before.” Poe muttered. Chewie’s eyes narrowed as Poe turned and slumped into the pilot’s seat. Chewie watched him for a moment, thinking. He’d seen how deeply the aftermath of the Raddus affected Poe back on Ryloth, but after their narrow escape, some of the weight and guilt in Poe’s eyes had disappeared. Now, it was back in full-force, and Chewie wasn’t entirely sure how to relight the spark everyone had come to rely on from him.

Still, he wasn’t the type of person to just stand aside while his friends were suffering. So he stepped in between the seats and pulled Poe close to him, into an embrace. Poe stiffened for a second, then pressed his forehead against Chewie’s chest and his shoulders shuddered. Chewie patted him affectionately on his curls, then began to smooth them down. Poe’s shoulders continued to shake, but Chewie didn’t comment on the fact, instead he growled,  _ Leia forgives you. _

More than that, Chewie knew, Leia loved Poe. He saw the warmth and pride in her eyes whenever she watched Poe, but he also knew Poe never noticed it himself. Chewie saw the way that they shared affectionate, quick reassuring squeezes of the arm or even Poe pressing a quick kiss to Leia’s cheek before he left for a mission; Poe had been the one to stay for her when no one else had, to steady her when no one else would, and Chewie was always grateful for that.

“I know she does,” Poe murmured against Chewie’s fur. He drew back, inhaling shakily. “I just don’t know how to forgive myself.”

Chewie considered this for a minute, then sank down into the seat next to Poe. Battles left scars; some were visible, like the faint pink scar just above Poe’s cheekbone, but others -

Others weren’t visible, but they were still there. Chewie's seen it in many people over the years; had calmed Han down from nightmares where he’d thought he was trapped in carbonite again, found Leia weeping to herself in the galley after seeing her planet go up before her in her dreams again.

There was nothing more Chewie wanted than to take the pain away from his friends, ease their guilt over how they survived when so many others didn’t. Right now, as he looked at Poe - exhausted, his hope running thin - Chewie was reminded of both Leia and Han: bright lights, burning and pulsing in a sea of darkness, bringing people to them, guiding them towards the right paths, whether they realized it or not. Always getting into more trouble than they were willing to admit.

Chewie growled again, and Poe stilled. “What?”

Chewie repeated himself, and Poe looked up at him sharply, “Of course I would forgive Finn if he -” Poe stops abruptly, realizing what Chewie was doing. The Wookiee almost looked  _ smug.  _

He continued,  _ “You forgive Rey for what she’s done.” _

“She’s a kid, in over her head, and desperate not to let Leia or the Resistance down, of course I’m not going to blame her.” Poe muttered, twisting in his seat to inspect the control panel, trying not to focus on his words or how much they dug into his skin.

_ “So why are you any different?” _

But Chewie wasn’t, apparently. Poe turned to him, opened his mouth to protest but didn’t get the chance because Chewbacca had already stood to return to his repairs, leaving Poe to mull over his own choice of words.

As he stood up to begin working on the wiring again, he couldn’t help the dry smile that briefly tugged on his lips. Chewie was good, Poe’d give him that. 

But even as he tried to wrangle with the storm of emotions inside of him, that growing sense of unease kept building up inside of him. He couldn’t explain it, exactly. It was as if he’d been carrying lights inside of him - brilliant and blazing - and one had just, inexplicably, been snuffed out.

Maybe it was Rey, maybe it was because she’d left. 

Somehow he doubted it. The answer of what that meant tugged at him, urged him to acknowledge it, but Poe refused and buried himself in his work, pushing away any dark thoughts that began to creep in.

(He wasn’t surprised when they returned to Ajan Kloss, but that didn't mean the news didn't shatter him).


End file.
